-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Curiosity may kill the reckless maverick
- From: dsw32952 <dsw32952@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:53:58 -0400
Well, the only real reason I am turning it on and off right now is to
collect data to aid in troubleshooting, so it won't be too reckless to
live with it for a while.
That said, I *will* go in and monkey with power and data cables to see
if the problem goes away or moves to the other drive. With cables
swapped around between the two drives, if the problem moves with the
cables I assume that since the boot error will not exist that the
symptoms will be different and maybe more difficult to spot. I suspect
most likely and most obvious would be the data drive not appearing under
My Computer in Windows Explorer.
Even if monkeying with the cables makes the problem go away, I think I
will still buy a couple of data cables to have on hand.... at only 2 or
3 bucks each there is no reason not to.
I'm not so sure now that swapping drives with the Dell would accomplish
anything that could not be accomplished by simply swapping the cable
instead. So if the reseating doesn't help I'll swap the cable around.
Might be Monday before I can monkey around so untill then I'll just live
a bit recklessly. :))
Don
Gman wrote:
> Below
>
> Peace,
> Gman
>
> http://www.thevenusproject.com/index.php
>
> "The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask"
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Don" <dsw32952@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, June 20, 2009 12:12 PM
> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: Curiosity may kill the reckless maverick
>
>
>
>> So far the problem has happened only when booting from a power off
>> state. And, IIRC, only when I leave it alone to boot to the default OS
>> (Vista).
>>
>> The idea of it being a power or data cable would have occurred to me if
>> it did not appear to be an intermittent occurrence and if it did not fix
>> itself after a couple of three finger salutes.
>>
>
>
> Intermittent NEVER excludes the possibility of a hardware issue, even a cord
> or cable. All it takes is a nearly broken lead or a little corrosion on a
> single contact to bring down a system, even intermittently. Pull each end
> of the data cables and reseat them to fix the corrosion issue. Replace them
> to fix a broken wire. If you're not in a position to replace, even as a
> test, at least reseat them.
>
>
>
>> If we assume it is indeed a cable or its connection, I would assume the
>> change in setup is because the drive is not seen and setup automatically
>> changes it settings to the other drive.
>>
>
>
> Correct.
>
>
>
>> I will try to pay more attention to this over the next few days and note
>> the circumstances on each boot where it occurs. Perhaps we will get
>> some more clues. In July or August I will be ordering a new power
>> supply and video card for the HP (and a new video card for the old Dell
>> and some additional memory for our laptops). That will eliminate the
>> power cord as a possibility. I may go ahead and order some new data
>> cables as they appear to be reasonably cheap (as low as $1.99 at
>> Newegg). Until then I will take notes and live with the problem.
>>
>
>
> Living with the problem would be rather reckless! lol
>
>
>
>> Another option will be to take the 160 out of the HP and swap it with
>> the 250GB in the Dell.
>>
>> HP has demonstrated to me that they are not happy with customers that
>> want to make their computers work in anyway other than the way HP wants
>> them to work. Without intending to sound paranoid, is there anything
>> in the CMOS or BIOS that HP could muck with that would cause or
>> contribute to problems like this?
>>
>
>
> They can tie a BIOS to a specific mobo and they can use proprietary parts to
> keep out compeditor's hardware, but they can't control partitioning,
> multi-booting, etc.. If you are running their version of the operating
> system, they can also try to limit many software options, but I don't see
> any way how that would have this effect.
>
>
>
>> Don
>>
>
>
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